sports

The 2020 Overwatch League Grand Finals were a prime example of how M&E organizations have approached remote production as an opportunity to evolve the way they work, not just an inconvenience to which they must adjust.

Considering the success of the CBS Sports broadcast for the PGA Championship, prospects are looking good for professional golf. Given the added complications of coronavirus, the triumph of this event is incredibly impressive.

Since its return at the end of July, the NBA and ESPN have worked tirelessly to learn from the hiccups of their predecessors, address the unique challenges and opportunities posed by the bubble league format, and simply put on a great show night after night.

While MLB has already demonstrated a profound readiness to innovate in the face of COVID-19, it’s likely that the league and the broadcasters who cover it will continue to adapt to the ever-changing circumstances of the moment.

“5G removes all the limitations we had with the things you have to plug in. Less gear and no limitation on where you can be,” Sahara says. “As long as you're somewhere in the network, somewhere you can get a signal, you can do what you need to do. And that's the freedom that 5G will enable.”

Of the many live sports events that have leveraged remote production technology to return to the field in the wake of COVID-19, one of the earliest and most impressive was the 2020 NFL Draft, which was held over three days in late April. This month, we’ve seen this spirit once again as the 2020 MLB Draft airs between June 10th and June 11th, bringing baseball fans some of the excitement they’ve been deferred.

The industry is certain to go through even more dynamic transformations once live production resumes in full, but until then, the journey that live sports has embarked on and the creativity and tenacity the industry has demonstrated continues to captivate.

As live sports begin to resume and leagues and production teams work to navigate hurdles both small and large, that innovative spirit is more valuable than ever. It’s helped keep players, administrators, and broadcasters safe so that leagues and their partners can help bring the game back to the fans.

As other leagues have shown in the past few weeks, staying adaptable and alert as to conditions and challenges is the key to a stellar return to play. With the proper protocol and regulation, the PGA Tour could be yet another story of triumph — a real hole-in-one.

While better positioned than most sports for a return, the work that NASCAR and Fox have done to get back to racing is remarkable, and hopefully provides a roadmap for others who think this might be the moment for them to come back.